Mike D'Antoni

Mike D'Antoni

Mike D'Antoni, 2010.
No. 5, 8, 10, 14
Point guard
Personal information
Born	May 8, 1951 (1951-05-08) Mullens, West Virginia
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
College	Marshall University
NBA Draft	1973 / Round: 2 / Pick: 2nd overall
Selected by the Kansas City-Omaha Kings
Pro career	1973–1990
Career history
As player:
Kansas City-Omaha Kings (1973–1976) Spirits of St. Louis (1976–1977) San Antonio Spurs (1977–1978) Olimpia Milano (1978–1990)
As coach:
Philips/Recoaro Milano (1990–1994) Benetton Treviso (1994–1997) Denver Nuggets (1998–1999) Benetton Treviso (2001–2002) Phoenix Suns (2003–2008) New York Knicks (2008–present)
Career highlights and awards
As a player: 5x Italian League titles 2x Euroleague titles 2x Cups of Italy 1x Korać Cup 1x Intercontinental Cup 50 Greatest Contributors in Euroleague History (2008) As a coach: 2x Italian League titles 1x Korać Cup 1x Cup of Italy
Career NBA/ABA statistics
Points	605
Rebounds	262
Assists	363
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Michael Andrew "Mike" D'Antoni (born May 8, 1951 in Mullens, West Virginia) is an Italian-American former basketball player and is currently the head coach of the NBA's New York Knicks. While head coach of the Phoenix Suns, he won NBA Coach of the Year honors for the 2004–05 NBA season after the Suns posted 33 more wins than the previous season. D'Antoni, who holds American and Italian dual citizenship, is known for his expertise in facilitating a fast-paced offense-oriented system.

Player career

After a college career at Marshall University, D'Antoni was drafted by the Kansas City-Omaha Kings in the 2nd round of the 1973 NBA Draft. He was all-NBA Rookie Second Team choice for 1974. After 3 seasons for the Kings (1973–1976), he played for the Spirits of St. Louis of the American Basketball Association in 1976, and for the San Antonio Spurs (again in the NBA) in 1977. His Spurs career lasted just two games before he found an opportunity to play successfully overseas.

D'Antoni was then called by the Italian team of Olimpia Milano, starting a career which saw him become the club's all-time leading scorer. He was voted the league's top point guard of all time in 1990 and he paced his team to five Italian League titles, two Euroleague titles, two Cups of Italy, one Korać Cup and one Intercontinental Cup. Being of Italian origin, D'Antoni was also selected to play on the Italian national team for the European championship in 1989.

D'Antoni's nickname in Europe was Arsène Lupin for his ability to steal balls from other players.

Coaching career

Italy

D’Antoni began his career as head coach for his most loyal club, Milan. He remained for four seasons, from 1990 to 1994, leading the club to the 1992 European Championship Final Four and 1993 Korać Cup. He was then chosen to coach Benetton Treviso, another major Italian basketball club. During his tenure (1994–1997), the team captured the Cup of Europe and Coppa Italia (in 1995) and won the national league title in 1996–97. Coach D’Antoni's Italian teams went to the playoffs each season, and he was twice voted the league's Coach of the Year. In 2001, D'Antoni returned to Italy for a second stint as the coach of Benetton Treviso. In his one season back in Europe, he led the team to a 28–8 record, a league championship and 2002 Euroleague Final Four, coaching a team filled with many former NBA stars.

Early NBA

The first NBA coaching job held by D'Antoni was with the Denver Nuggets in 1997-98 as the club's director of player personnel. He also did some broadcasting work with TNT during that season. The next year, he became Nuggets head coach, but was fired after a poor performance during the strike-shortened 1998-99 season. D'Antoni then went on to become a scout for San Antonio Spurs during the 1999–2000 season. He was also an assistant for the Portland Trail Blazers in 2000-01.

Phoenix Suns

In 2002, he made his return to the NBA as a Phoenix Suns assistant. In 2003, D'Antoni was hired with 61 games left in the season as the head coach of the Phoenix Suns and, despite leading the team to a poor record in the second half of the year, he received a vote of confidence for producing inspired play from an injury riddled team. The next season, D'Antoni helped the team acquire Steve Nash, which began an incredible turnaround for the franchise. After the addition of Nash, the D'Antoni-coached Suns won fifty or more games in four consecutive seasons. D'Antoni won the NBA Coach of the Year Award during his first full season with the Suns. His style, dubbed "Seven Seconds or Less", was described in a book of that name.

Team USA

D'Antoni was selected to the coaching staff for the Team USA Olympic Basketball squad under head coach Mike Krzyzewski and participated in the 2006 FIBA World Championship, winning a bronze medal. Pundits believe his familiarity with the three-point shot and the zone defense, hallmarks of the international game, will be valuable assets to the team.

D'Antoni has dual citizenship in the United States and Italy: this made him the first Italian ever to lead an NBA team. He is fluent in both English and Italian.

New York Knicks

D'Antoni coaching the New York Knicks in 2009.

As of May 5, 2008, D'Antoni was told that he was free to speak with other teams about a coaching job next season, although Steve Kerr requested he stay with the Suns. On May 9, D'Antoni was made an offer by the New York Knicks. The next day, D'Antoni accepted the 4 year, $24 million offer and became the Knicks' head coach. After two tough years, D'Antoni finally saw some success with the Knicks during the 2010-2011 season. The team brought in Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, and the Knicks qualified for the playoffs with a 42-40 record, before getting swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.

Head coaching record

Legend
Regular season	G	Games coached	W	Games won	L	Games lost	W–L %	Win-loss  %
Post season	PG	Playoff Games	PW	Playoff Wins	PL	Playoff Losses	PW–L %	Playoff Win-loss  %

Team	Year	G	W	L	W–L%	Finish	PG	PW	PL	PW–L%	Result
DEN	1998–99	50	14	36	.280	6th in Midwest	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
PHX	2003–04	61	21	40	.344	6th in Pacific	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
PHX	2004–05	82	62	20	.756	1st in Pacific	15	9	6	.600	Lost in Conf. Finals
PHX	2005–06	82	54	28	.659	1st in Pacific	20	10	10	.500	Lost in Conf. Finals
PHX	2006–07	82	61	21	.744	1st in Pacific	11	6	5	.545	Lost in Conf. Semifinals
PHX	2007–08	82	55	27	.671	2nd in Pacific	5	1	4	.200	Lost in First Round
NYK	2008–09	82	32	50	.390	5th in Atlantic	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
NYK	2009–10	82	29	53	.354	3rd in Atlantic	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
NYK	2010–11	82	42	40	.512	2nd in Atlantic	4	0	4	.000	Lost in First Round
Career		685	370	315	.540		55	26	29	.473

External links

• Career basketpedya.com
• Euroleague.net profile